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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

M4 3181 Electric Airsoft Rifle with M203 Grenade Launcher

I think just about every person with
more than a couple Airsoft guns has an M4 style rifle. It represents the classic assault rifle image
permanently burned into our brains through military commercials and Call of
Duty games (or Counterstrike for those of us born before the 90’s). If you have
ever shot a real steel assault rifle, there is a fair chance it was an AR-15,
which is basically an M4 for reasons I won’t get in to. While popular culture
and the trust of the military have certainly added to the M4’s reputation,
there are many other reasons why you’ll see extremely high numbers of them at
your local Airsoft field. One of these is ease of customization. An M4 is
actually kind of already customized. It’s essentially an M16 with a shorter
barrel and retractable stock. The M series of rifles are one if not the most customizable rifles you
can get.

This M4 3181 Electric Airsoft Rifle with
M203 Grenade Launcher comes with everything you need to customize the
rifle and make it suit your body type and playing style. It comes with two
handguards, one of which has an RIS system for your flashlights, lasers, or
what have you. It also comes with a vertical grip for the RIS handguard that
you can attach anywhere to get the most comfortable fit for your particular
size. Two adjustable stocks are also included, one has a cheek
rest and BB holder which is a nice touch. The normal stock is pretty standard fare, fully adjustable with a
screw-in system so it won’t slip around. For the record you cannot fit a
battery in the stock. Most people with M4’s (including me), just run the
battery to the hand guard anyway, which is where it’s located on this rifle, so
that’s cool. With M4’s I personally think having the battery up front gives it
the best balance anyway. A tactical 3 point sling is also included, with
standard attachment points. These
generally cost ten or twenty dollars by themselves and are pretty much
necessary, so the inclusion of one is a nice bonus.

This is a plastic-bodied Airsoft rifle
with a lot of accessories for a really low price. It has a plastic gearbox and
is marketed towards beginners, so they could have put out a really terrible
product and probably gotten away with it. However there are some nice touches
that make this rifle stand apart from other guns in the price range and really
add to the quality. The barrel is metal which adds some weight to the gun and
also saves it from being completely useless. Cocking the gun will pop open the
plate that allows hop up adjustment.
This is a small thing but a lot of the more affordable rifles don’t have
it and they always feel really cheap when they don’t. Also the rear sight
aperture is adjustable for elevation and windage, a feature that every good
rifle should have. The M4 3181 shoots around 300FPS as well which is just about
as hot as most indoor Airsoft fields will allow you to fire.

Of course the pièce de résistance of this particular rifle
is the included attachable M203 Grenade Launcher. It works pretty much like any
M203, you pull back the pump shotgun-style to cock the launcher and then it has
its own separate trigger to fire. However this one just fires BB’s straight out
of the barrel, which is actually better for this particular set up. It might
not be quite as cool an Airsoft grenade launcher that fires shells, but keep in
mind that just one shell for one of those costs almost double the price of this
entire rifle. I personally love the M203 Grenade Launcher solely because it
makes a great backup weapon. AEG’s have a tendency to jam. They also have a tendency to
run out of ammo and batteries. The grenade launcher is a
completely separate system from the rest of the rifle, and will still fire even
if it isn’t attached. This means when you suddenly run out of mags and batteries you don’t have to quit. Your rifle basically becomes a
shotgun, and you can still get some tags. Nobody likes playing decoy and I
think shotgun blasting people with an M4 is certainly a better alternative.
It’s a much better alternative than just calling yourself out, because
that doesn’t help your team now does it?

Overall the M4 3181 Electric Airsoft
Rifle with M203 Grenade Launcher is a really good deal simply because it has
everything you need to go play Airsoft and have a lot of fun with it. I’m not
going to lie and say it’s the best AEG money can buy, because it isn’t. Is it
the best AEG for the money? I don’t think that statement would be too far off
base. This is an entry level rifle geared towards newer players, and I don’t
think any newer players will be disappointed with it. The 300FPS rating is
probably the most important factor, because if you aren’t shooting high enough
FPS you won’t have range and you won’t hit anything. Most indoor fields only allow 350FPS anyway, and a majority of players will shoot for something like 320 or 330FPS to avoid
accidentally firing some BB’s over the 350 mark. Therefore you are going to be
running with the pack and able to keep up. The firing rate on this M4 is very
decent as well. I really like that it comes with a vertical grip, because this
is the first attachment that usually gets bought for M4’s anyway. And of course
the M203 Grenade Launcher, aside from just being really awesome, genuinely
makes a very reliable backup to the rifle’s main operation. I really think this
AEG surpasses anything else in its class and price range. Try it out for yourself.